AS a young and very inexperienced reporter I once broke a story about council house tenants being offered homes to buy cheaply. The council was offering these homes at a reduced rate to ease the ever-growing housing waiting lists. I, however, mixed two stories up and announced the 400 people involved in the scheme would have to build the new homes themselves. The housing officer who kindly phoned me the following morning to point out my mistake claimed 396 of the 400 people offered homes had called him in a panic within hours of the paper being published. This incident taught me two things; to check and double check my facts and that people actually read what I wrote — until then it hadn’t occurred to me that anyone other than my parents and a maiden aunt would be interested. But, when I began to think about it, where else were people going to get their local news? National papers and television show the world picture, regional papers and radio give the area’s overview but if you want to know what’s going on down the road the only place to find out is your local paper. From Mrs Bloggs’ planning application, through Women’s Institute meetings, reports from court and councils, theatre listings, business information and the sports scene, all the local news is at your fingertips. And that’s just the editorial. Delve deeper and you can find a job, a home, buy a rabbit hutch or sell a car. I even gained a brother through the small ads — he was smiling out of a fostering feature in the classifieds and, 25 years later, I think we can safely say he’s one of the family. I might be biased but, in my opinion, local newspapers are the best.

Woking MP Humfrey Malins praising the News and Mail, said: “It has plenty of local news and views and is a must buy. “It gives a lot of coverage to the unsung heroes of the borough and is full of good news, sport and comment.” Mayor Mehala Gosling said: “Local newspapers are a key source of information for people about where they live and work and to my mind, a healthy local paper circulation indicates a vibrant and interesting community with plenty to say. “The Woking News and Mail has been putting people in the know about issues, events and the many opportunities that exist for them to take part in local life since 1894.” She added: “It has recently branched out on to the web to reach an even greater audience so that now, readers from across the UK and the world can find out about what’s happening here in Woking.”